feeding... a horse allergic to most things.

jhoward

jhoward

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ive just found out one of my neds has allergies to most things in life. the problem lies.... feeding hes a poor doer and needs condtioning food all year round, im now about to start the struggle to find him some food, and i dont mind admitting i need help! so heres what he can not have....

soya either oil or bean
flax seed (linseed)
alfa a
apple

he is also allergic to timothy grass and dust. (may be relevent.)

so what the hell do i feed him?
 
Boiled barley is good for condition
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You could also add Cod Liver Oil? ( http://www.orchardequestrian.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=4243&category_id=143 ) It might be a good idea to add an all-round supplement to his feed as well
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tried codliver oil. it made no difference, hes a 17 hh warm blood in light work. but still feed twice a day. and has hay
 
You need the help of equine nutrition experts. I believe that the best thing you can do is contact Dodson & Horrell, Spiller, Baileys etc. They have help lines & you can contact them, details on their websites & they will give you professional impartial advice regarding your rather unusual & complicated problem. Good Luck
 
following on from the barley suggestion could you maybe make up your own conditioning mix type thing from straights?

not sure how you would do it but the feed companies would be able to help.
 
the thing is with the barley rings etc is they contain flax,

i will ring around on monday but wanted ideas, as need to get the horse back on food, hes starting look ribby, it had taken me a year to get weight on with trying different foods etc
 
Bruised barley won't contain flax surely?? If it doesn't then that would work with the sugar beet. I think you're going to need a fairly basic approach and not go with mixes etc cos you'll never manage to avoid all the stuff that horsey is allergic to!

Good luck though - it must be a bloody nightmare trying to sort it out - I think I'm hard done by when my horse decides she doesn't like nuts anymore and would prefer mix!
 
Try good old fashioned grass nuts. We had mare who was allergic to just about everything cereal and sugar, was a nightmare to feed. She could tolerate alfalfa though (current mare can't oddly enough). We fed her on grass nuts and she kept condition on well with those.
 
most mixes contain soya...

it is a night mare, also allergic to
horse flies
fireflies
(another midge cant remember which)
pollen
dust
and timothy grass, hes reaction is to itch. every part of him.
 
What are you feeding him at the moment?

Straights would be the easiest way to go, as most complete foods have a huge list of ingredients which are likely to contain one of the allergens.

Suggestions to try are:

Dried grass products such as Readigrass or grass nuts (obviously check with manufacturer to make sure there is no timothy grass in them)

Micronised barley (this is a straight feed and unlike barley rings will contain no added extras like linseed oil)

Rapeseed oil

Sugar beet (molassed or unmolassed, depending on your preference)

All four of those would actually combine to make a reasonably balanced feed.

Add a broad spectrum vit/min supplement if you want to ensure all nutrient levels are met.
 
Baileys No 1, which is their 'original' feed, is nothing but wheat, and is designed (I think, but check it) to put weight on poor doers. We had a few people use it last year (I own a feed store) for horses with severe allergies. If you are anywhere near us, come in and we can check out all the ingredients in the bags! PM me if you like.
 
hes been on hifi lite. max amount of the barley rings, a hand full of ride and relax. linseed oil and a min and vit supplement.

i had thought the feed was playing a part, and the mix feed in any amount deff was making him worse.

as suggested, most mixes containe soya, or the flax, all of mine are on a low sugar diet, which i would prefure to stick with.

spot the risk where abouts are you?? id planned on going to my local feed centre to day and having a look at labels, but in all honestey he tends to stock the most common feeds.

first step is a chaff... low sugar no alfa a.

then i will talk to all of the feed makers, aswell.
 
have you had a look at the allen and page sugar and cereal free meal, it has certainly kept weight on my lad who is in heavy work.

i can go check the label of it for you when i feed my lad
 
Hi,
Had similar problem.
Try Allen & Page calm and condition with some kind of chaff and haylage instead of hay. If he is OK with that then add Feedmarks Benivite. Mine looks a different horse now, and so far seems to have got less allergic.
 
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